A beloved Broadway musical, a Lorde concert and six other things to see, do, hear and read this week
A timeless film’s musical remount
1An American in Paris, which won the 1951 Oscar for best picture, has recently enjoyed a second wind: its Broadway resurrection grabbed four Tony Awards in 2015, including one for Christopher Wheeldon’s irresistible choreography and another for Bob Crowley’s painterly set design, which banishes all the Parisian clichés of the original film. The tale of postwar romance between an American soldier and a French dancer, set against the liberation of France, also gets some added complexity in Craig Lucas’s new libretto. Tuesday, March 27 to Sunday, April 29. $65–$175. Princess of Wales Theatre.
An evening with Call Me By Your Name’s screenwriter
2Decades after James Ivory improbably turned British costume dramas into box-office bonanzas (A Room With a View, Howards End), he scored a late-life triumph with his Oscar-winning script for Call Me By Your Name. The 89-year-old legend visits the Lightbox this week to introduce a screening of the film, along with a new restoration of his 1987 passion project Maurice. Monday, March 26 and Tuesday, March 27. $14. TIFF Bell Lightbox.
Lorde’s second coming
3It seems like eons since Lorde’s contagiously minimalistic debut “Royals” transformed the obscure Kiwi singer into an international phenomenon. Melodrama, her sophomore record—and one of the best of 2017—picks up just where she left off: soberly self-aware and suspicious of the carpe-diem hedonism that dominates just about every other modern pop hit. On new songs like the shape-shifting single “Green Light,” she translates the anxieties of adolescence—feeling out of place at a house party, reeling from a breakup—into gems that feature New Wave rhythms and layer upon layer of warbling harmonies. Thursday, March 29. $79–$130. Air Canada Centre.
Yo La Tengo’s refuge rock
4If art doesn’t change the world, it can at least provide a refuge. On their new album, There’s a Riot Going On, New Jersey indie rockers Yo La Tengo pay musical and lyrical tribute to one of their formative influences, Sly and the Family Stone, who tried to soothe listeners through their songs. YLT’s smooth new tracks, like the fuzzed-out single “For You Too,” are a conscious balm for the Trump era. Saturday, March 31. $25–$35. Phoenix.
An operatic reimagining of a Russian classic
5Gogol’s tragicomic The Overcoat—about a minor Russian bureaucrat who hopes to raise his social standing by buying some new outerwear—has inspired films and ballets, but this Tapestry production is its first go as an opera. The show, co-produced by Canadian Stage and Vancouver Opera, stars Geoff Sirett as the hapless Akakiy, whose life unravels when his new coat gets stolen. With a finely tuned libretto by Morris Panych and a luminous score by James Rolfe, this promises to be the new-music event of the month. Thursday, March 29 to Saturday, April 14. $35.10–$99. St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.
An auction by artists, for artists
6The faculty and alumni of OCAD University put their work up for sale at Project 31, a live auction that supports the school and its students. This year’s event features a newly commissioned limited-edition series of 20 pieces by photographer, filmmaker and Toronto Islands resident April Hickox, plus art from more than 40 artists and a cocktail reception. Wednesday, March 28. $125. OCAD University.
A good, not bad BadBadNotGood show
7A BadBadNotGood gig is perhaps the only place jazz geeks, indie rockers and OVO disciples can rub shoulders. The oddball Humber College jazz program dropouts have won their way intoa strange cross-section of record collections by combining technical mastery with spunky hip-hop swagger, a shtick that’s also turned them into a go-to backing band for rap royalty like Kendrick Lamar and Ghostface Killah. Expect a revolving door of special guests at this hometown gig, where their cacophony of wailing saxophones, shuffling keys and manic percussion will spawn the last thing you’d expect at a jazz concert: a mosh pit. Friday, March 30 and Saturday, March 31. $31.50–$36.50. Danforth Music Hall.
A comprehensive Agnès Varda retrospective
8The so-called “grandmother of the French New Wave,” Agnès Varda began her career before contemporaries like Godard and Truffaut, and thanks to her art-house hit Faces Places, has lived long enough to become an internet meme. TIFF’s career-spanning retrospective continues this week with Daguerréotypes (March 27), her first feature-length documentary; One Sings, the Other Doesn’t (March 30), her pro-choice manifesto; and one of her most celebrated films, Vagabond (March 30). Until April 17. $14. TIFF Bell Lightbox.
Never Miss Another Great Event
, he scored a late-life triumph with his Oscar-winning script for Call Me By Your Name. The 89-year-old legend visits the Lightbox this week to introduce a screening of the film, along with a new restoration of his 1987 passion project Maurice. Monday, March 26 and Tuesday, March 27. $14. TIFF Bell Lightbox.
Lorde’s second coming
3It seems like eons since Lorde’s contagiously minimalistic debut “Royals” transformed the obscure Kiwi singer into an international phenomenon. Melodrama, her sophomore record—and one of the best of 2017—picks up just where she left off: soberly self-aware and suspicious of the carpe-diem hedonism that dominates just about every other modern pop hit. On new songs like the shape-shifting single “Green Light,” she translates the anxieties of adolescence—feeling out of place at a house party, reeling from a breakup—into gems that feature New Wave rhythms and layer upon layer of warbling harmonies. Thursday, March 29. $79–$130. Air Canada Centre.
Yo La Tengo's refuge rock
4If art doesn't change the world, it can at least provide a refuge. On their new album, There’s a Riot Going On, New Jersey indie rockers Yo La Tengo pay musical and lyrical tribute to one of their formative influences, Sly and the Family Stone, who tried to soothe listeners through their songs. YLT’s smooth new tracks, like the fuzzed-out single "For You Too," are a conscious balm for the Trump era. Saturday, March 31. $25–$35. Phoenix.
An operatic reimagining of a Russian classic
5Gogol’s tragicomic The Overcoat—about a minor Russian bureaucrat who hopes to raise his social standing by buying some new outerwear—has inspired films and ballets, but this Tapestry production is its first go as an opera. The show, co-produced by Canadian Stage and Vancouver Opera, stars Geoff Sirett as the hapless Akakiy, whose life unravels when his new coat gets stolen. With a finely tuned libretto by Morris Panych and a luminous score by James Rolfe, this promises to be the new-music event of the month. Thursday, March 29 to Saturday, April 14. $35.10–$99. St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.
An auction by artists, for artists
6The faculty and alumni of OCAD University put their work up for sale at Project 31, a live auction that supports the school and its students. This year’s event features a newly commissioned limited-edition series of 20 pieces by photographer, filmmaker and Toronto Islands resident April Hickox, plus art from more than 40 artists and a cocktail reception. Wednesday, March 28. $125. OCAD University.
A good, not bad BadBadNotGood show
7A BadBadNotGood gig is perhaps the only place jazz geeks, indie rockers and OVO disciples can rub shoulders. The oddball Humber College jazz program dropouts have won their way intoa strange cross-section of record collections by combining technical mastery with spunky hip-hop swagger, a shtick that’s also turned them into a go-to backing band for rap royalty like Kendrick Lamar and Ghostface Killah. Expect a revolving door of special guests at this hometown gig, where their cacophony of wailing saxophones, shuffling keys and manic percussion will spawn the last thing you’d expect at a jazz concert: a mosh pit. Friday, March 30 and Saturday, March 31. $31.50–$36.50. Danforth Music Hall.
A comprehensive Agnès Varda retrospective
8The so-called “grandmother of the French New Wave,” Agnès Varda began her career before contemporaries like Godard and Truffaut, and thanks to her art-house hit Faces Places, has lived long enough to become an internet meme. TIFF’s career-spanning retrospective continues this week with Daguerréotypes (March 27), her first feature-length documentary; One Sings, the Other Doesn’t (March 30), her pro-choice manifesto; and one of her most celebrated films, Vagabond (March 30). Until April 17. $14. TIFF Bell Lightbox.
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